Hikaru Nakamura drops a major statement on his future: 'Lately I haven’t been enjoying chess very much'

American chess star and popular streamer Hikaru Nakamura has admitted the “end is much closer than the beginning” for him, at least as far as the Classical format of the game is concerned , and that he has been making serious considerations regarding his future in the sport in recent months. Nakamura, ranked second in the world, discussed the prospect of his retirement from chess and how he is “not enjoying it” anymore shortly after defeating 16-year-old Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra in the quarter-finals of the ongoing American Cup.

‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot’: Nakamura

“Obviously I don’t do the titles. That should be well noted first and foremost. But I think the problem is I’m not enjoying it. Maybe that’s the fact that I’ve messed up a lot of winning games but lately I haven’t been enjoying chess very much,” Nakamura told American International Master Eric Rosen in a video posted by the Saint Louis Chess Club on YouTube on Monday.

“So I think as far as Classical chess goes, we’ll see. I’m not happy, and things are not going in the right direction. I think a lot of people sort of assume I want to play forever, but I don’t. So, we’ll see,” he added.

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The 37-year-old added that while a winning streak this late in his career might get him to change his mind, the likelihood of retirement is “definitely on the horizon”.

“Maybe I’ll win a few games and change my mind, but overall, it’s definitely on the horizon. It’s not something that I just said it in the moment. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and even before the whole boom, there were many times that I said I was hoping to basically quit Chess by the time I was 40, and as far as Classical chess goes, I still have that view.

“Maybe I can make it to the Candidates, maybe I’ve won two more cycles, but as far as Classical, the end is much closer than the beginning for sure, he added.

Nakamura credits Mishra for a tough fight

Mishra, who is of Indian origin, put up a solid fight against five-time US chess champion and reigning Fischer Random world champion Nakamura, surging ahead with a win in first game of the playoffs after the two Classical games ended in a stalemate.

The Japanese-born American GM, however, kept himself afloat with a victory in Game 4 while playing with black pieces. After a draw in Game 5, Nakamura sealed a 3.5-2.5 victory over Mishra with a victory in 50 moves in Game 6, this time playing with white pieces.

Nakamura’s path to victory along with a place in the semi-finals, however, was far from easy, and he only complicated things for himself during the quarter-final, admitting in the interview that he should have won the contest a lot more convincingly.

“It was a pretty terrible match from the standpoint of quality. I have to give credit to Abhimanyu, he defended well in both the Classical games. And then this tie-breaker was insane. I mean in the first game, I could have made a draw and then I decided I’d rather just keep the game going and I kind of got punished for that,” Nakamura told Rosen.

“And in the second game, it was pretty much a free-for-all where obviously I was completely lost, but I think kind of makes up because in a normal world or maybe in a different time, I would have won both Classical games, so I think it was just kind of luck evening out.

“And then in the final two games… I mean in the first one I decided I wasn’t going to take any risk, just keep it very, very solid with black. And then in the second game, kind of had to go for it, and I was actually just up a piece and winning. Somehow, even this game, I found a way to make it very, very messy for no reason. So, maybe I was a little bit lucky, but a win’s a win,” he added.

Nakamura faces GM Leinier Dominguez Perez in the semi-finals of the tournament, with the two players currently tied on half-a-point each after drawing the first game.